goscott's Page

In the high stakes world of global politics, it is common practice to procure sexual favors in the hopes to gain leverage or to gain power through blackmail. It's done all the time. The Soviets did it. The Americans do it, and many other countries as well. This following is the bizarre and very real child sexual prostitution ring involving the Republican elite of Washington. And the trail leads right up to George H. W. Bush. Read the chilling story.

SEX AND THE CAPITAL

KARLYN BARKER, WASHINGTON POST, JULY 24, 1990: The alleged leader of what authorities have called the largest male prostitution operation in the Washington area surrendered to federal agents
yesterday and pleaded not guilty to racketeering charges that have been filed
against him and three alleged accomplices. Henry W. Vinson, 29, of Williamson,
W.Va., a coal miner's son accused of setting up the homosexual escort service,
was arraigned in U.S. District Court here yesterday afternoon after turning
himself in to Secret Service agents . . . At a news conference after the
arraignment, [U.S. Attorney Jay] Stephens said the investigation into the
alleged prostitution ring "is concluded" and that the indictment,
which was unsealed yesterday, focused on those who allegedly set up the ring
rather than on clients who reportedly patronized it. Asked about earlier reports
that some of those clients included high-level officials in the Reagan and Bush
administrations, Stephens said the investigation had not revealed
"additional conduct which suggests criminal conduct on behalf of other
people." . . . The Vinson case provoked additional notice after The
Washington Times published reports last summer suggesting that the alleged
prostitution ring had been patronized by government officials. The Times named
as clients several low-level government employees and Craig J. Spence, a
Washington lobbyist and party-giver who, the paper said, took friends and
prostitutes on late-night tours of the White House. Spence was found dead in a
Boston hotel room last fall, and authorities ruled his death a suicide . . . To
date, however, investigators have disclosed no evidence linking any high-level
government official to the escort service.

THE ARTICLES BELOW CHRONICLE THE VERY REAL BEHAVIOR OF THE POWER ELITE IN AMERICA

• "MINGO MESS BAFFLING TANGLE" The Charleston Gazette, Editorial; Pg. P4A, July 03, 1997.

  In which we hear of the appointment of a coroner who had been convicted of bribery and who supposedly had been married to a Henry Vinson, a mortician who had operated a "call boy" service utilized by
  White House officials
  

  This is the hook into a long story.

  We now turn to some news stories that appeared in the Washington Times more than a decade ago, but apart from a few having to do with Barney Frank, these stories have never generated much attention. We then recover as full a
  story as can be constructed from accounts in the press, in chronological
  order.
  

• "'CALL-BOY' SERVICE PROSPERS USING HIGH FINANCE, HIGH TECH," Paul M. Rodriguez and George Archibald , The Washington Times, June 20, 1989
  
  

  In which we see Henry Vinson's name first surface, along with Robert Chambers, a funeral director, who operated a call boy network that laundered money through umbrella organizations in the District of Columbia area,
  Florida, Kentucky and West Virginia.
  

• "POWER BROKER SERVED DRUGS, SEX AT PARTIES BUGGED FOR BLACKMAIL," Michael Hedges and Jerry Seper, The Washington Times, June 30, 1989
  

  In which we learn of Craig J. Spence, who arranged midnight tours of the White House, threw lavish parties for the famous and powerful where cocaine was generously served, spent $20,000 a month on male prostitutes
  from a D.C. prostitution ring, and bragged of connections to the CIA, whom
  he worried might kill him and then make it look like a suicide.
  
  

• "RNC CALLS SCANDAL A 'TRAGIC SITUATION,'" George Archibald and Paul M. Rodriguez, The Washington Times, Friday, June 30, 1989
  
  

  In which we learn of the resignation of an aide to Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole, and of the reaction of Rep. Barney Frank, who is "not surprised" by the revelations.
  

• "White House mute on 'call boy' probe," Frank J. Murray, The Washington Times, July 7, 1989

  In which we learn that President Bush followed the story, and that a Uniformed Division officer of the Special Service, Reginald deGueldre, arranged the midnight White House tours for Craig Spence and two male
  prostitutes, and was moonlighting as Spence's bodyguard.
  

• "Spence was target before raid on ring," Jerry Seper, and Michael Hedges The Washington Times, July 10, 1989

  In which we learn that Craig Spence brought a 15-year old boy on at least one of his midnight tours of the White House, that Spence asked detailed questions about the Delta Force operations, that he partied with
  former U.S. Attorney Joseph diGenova and his wife, Victoria Toensing, and
  that he bragged of having blackmailed a high-ranking Japanese politician,
  Motoo Shiina.
  
  

• "Spence ma[y] be Shiina's downfall," Edward Neilan, The Washington Times, July 18, 1989

  In which we hear of the connections between Motoo Shiina, groomed to be a future prime minister of Japan, and Craig Spence: how Spence had made more than $700,000 from Shiina's Policy Study Group, and how Spence had
  refused to pay back a loan made by Shiina for the purchase of Spence's
  house.
  

• "First lady not worried about hookers' tour of White House," Paul Bedard, The Washington Times, July 10, 1989

  In which we learn that First Lady Barbara Bush was not concerned about the security questions raised by midnight White House tours, but did think it good that the Washington Post had not followed the Times' story.
  

• "Secret Service furloughs third White House guard ," Jerry Seper, and Michael Hedges, The Washington Times , July 26, 1989
  
  

  In which we hear that, contrary to earlier White House claims, 1 a.m. tours were "totally out of the ordinary." We also learn that Spence introduced a 15-year old boy to Ted Koppel in the Nightline studio
  right before one of the tours.
  

• "SEX PARTY HELD AT AUSSIE EMBASSY 'WE'RE NOT TALKING CROCODILE DUNDEE HERE,'" Michael Hedges and Jerry Seper, Washington Times, July 28, 1989
  

  In which a woman who worked for one of the prostitution rings linked to Spence claimed she worked a party held at the Australian embassy. She also claimed that one of her military clients told her Spence was
  blackmailing him.
  

• "SPENCE ELUSIVE, SAID TO BE EVERYWHERE BUT ISN'T," Jerry Seper and Michael Hedges, Washington Times, Thursday, August 3, 1989
  

  In which we learn that Spence has disappeared, but has told his friends not to take any account of his death at face value. We also discover that Ted Koppel is a longtime friend, and that the Special Service is not as
  interested in credit card fraud as they are in Spence's military and
  political connections.
  
  

• "SPENCE ARRESTED IN N.Y., RELEASED BIZARRE INTERVIEW IS NO NIGHT ON THE TOWN," Jerry Seper and Michael Hedges, Washington Times; August 9, 1989
  

  In which Craig Spence is interviewed and speaks of his own death and of the connections he had to powerful people who will pretend never to have known him.
  

• Spence arrested in N.Y., released; Once-host to powerful reduced to begging, sleeping in park, Michael Hedges, and Jerry Seper, The Washington Times, August 9, 1989.
  

  More from Craig Spence's interview. Highlights include his hint that Donald Gregg arranged the late-night White House tours. Spence also speaks of more significant secrets that he plans to take to the grave.
  

• "Sex sold from congressman's apartment: Frank's lover was 'call boy,'" Paul M. Rodriguez and George Archibald, The Washington Times , August 25, 1989.
  
  

  The only story that received much attention. A male prostitute, identified by the alias Greg Davis, entertained clients in the apartment of Rep. Barney Frank. Frank admitted having a relationship with the prostitute,
  but denied knowledge of the use of his apartment for illicit purposes.
  

• "Sex sold from congressman's apartment: School used as base for sex ring," George Archibald and Paul M. Rodriguez, The Washington Times, August 25, 1989.
  

  In which we learn that Barney Frank's call boy also did business in a local public school.

• "THE GOBIE STORY: Frank's 'call boy' tells all," George Archibald, and Paul M. Rodriguez, The Washington Times, September 1, 1989.
  

  In which Stephen L. Gobie, whose professional name in the underground prostitute trade is "Greg Davis," insists that Rep. Barney Frank knew of the use of his apartment as a base for prostitution. Gobie also
  reveals that one of his clients was Craig Spence.
  
  

• "IN DEATH, SPENCE STAYED TRUE TO FORM," Michael Hedges, and Jerry Seper, The Washington Times, Monday, November 13, 1989.
  

  Craig Spence is found dead in a Boston hotel room. Near his body is a newspaper clipping that details legislative efforts to protect CIA agents called to testify before government bodies. Friends of Spence reported that
  he had claimed the CIA used the call boy service to compromise other federal
  intelligence officials and foreign diplomats. One friend quoted Spence as
  saying, "Casey's boys are out to get me,"
  

• "SPENCE AS MUCH AN ENIGMA IN DEATH AS HE WAS IN LIFE," Jerry Seper, and Michael Hedges, The Washington Times, November 13, 1989.
  

  In which we learn how slow had been the federal investigation into the allegations swirling around Craig Spence. Spence himself had been handed a subpoena more than two months before his death, but was never called to
  testify. Officials of the Reagan and Bush administrations, identified in The
  Times as having used the call-boy service, had not even been contacted by
  law enforcement officials. One witness reported: "They asked me what I
  thought Spence wanted to know about the Delta project."
  

• "Prostitutes corroborate Frank stories," Paul M. Rodriguez, The Washington Times, February 2, 1990.
  

  In which other prostitutes corroborate Gobies' claims that Rep. Barney Frank knew of his use of the congressman's apartment for use as a bordello. Gobie also claims that Craig Spence was one of his clients and had tried to
  recruit him to help "in a sordid scheme to blackmail the powerful
  politicians invited to his lavish parties." Gobie claimed that Mr.
  Spence said to him, "Do you know what kind of power you can have over
  people if you've got something on them? . . . I need boys and girls for
  people in government and high-level businessmen for my parties, for
  individuals, for whatever comes up."
  

• MINGO HIRES CONTROVERSIAL DOCTOR, Maryclaire Dale, The Charleston Gazette; News, July 01, 1997.

  Returning full circle to the Mingo case, we find the newly appointed medical examiner of Mingo County arguing that the fact that she is a physician argues in favor of her having the position over the previous
  nominee, a funeral home owner. Shafer argues: "A physician has nothing
  to gain from a suicide. A mortician does. He would probably process the body
  for burial," she said. "I don't think it's [the funeral industry]
  a charity business." Ironically, Shafer's "husband" is Henry
  Vinson, a former mortician and coroner who is linked, as we saw above, to
  the child sex ring scandals. We also learn that his lawyer is the legal
  commentator Greta van Susteren.